Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G Review: A 409-Gram F2.8 Wide-Angle Zoom for Sony Full Frame

Most f/2.8 wide-angle zooms are big. They need to cover 16mm or wider at a fast aperture, and that takes a lot of glass. The Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G, announced in April 2024 at about $1,199, shrinks the idea. It weighs about 409 grams, measures about 91 millimeters long and takes a common 67mm filter.

It’s designed to match Sony’s compact G lenses, especially the FE 24-50mm f/2.8 G. Together they cover 16mm to 50mm at f/2.8 in two small lenses that share a 67mm filter size.

Video review: Gerald Undone

Small, sharp and fast

Sharpness is very good across the frame for a wide zoom, with the best results stopped down a little for landscapes. Contrast is high and flare control is good, important when the sun is in the frame.

Two linear motors focus quickly and quietly. Close focus is excellent, 18 centimeters at the wide end, for up to 0.2x magnification. Shooting close to a foreground subject with a wide background is easy.

Eleven circular aperture blades help when shooting stars or night cityscapes, giving clean, round highlights.

Built for vloggers too

16mm on full frame is wide enough for arm’s-length vlogging, and the light weight helps on a gimbal. Sony bodies can apply breathing compensation and Dynamic Active stabilization with this lens.

There’s an aperture ring with a click switch, an AF/MF switch and a focus-hold button. The lens is dust and moisture resistant with a fluorine-coated front element, so wiping off spray and rain is easy.

The limits

16-25mm is a short range. It doesn’t go as wide as 14mm or 12mm options, and it stops at 25mm, so you’ll need another lens for everything else.

No optical stabilization, normal for Sony.

At around $1,199, it’s not cheap for its size. Sigma’s 16-28mm f/2.8 DG DN and Tamron’s 17-28mm f/2.8 cost less and are only a little bigger.

Who should buy it

Landscape and travel photographers who hike. Vloggers who want a wide, light zoom. A7C II and A7CR owners who want to keep their kit small. Anyone pairing it with the 24-50mm f/2.8 G or the 20-70mm f/4 G.

If you need wider, the FE 12-24mm or 14mm primes are the choices. For a light f/2.8 wide zoom that disappears in your bag, this is the one.